We are told Rudolph’s glowing red nose gives off an infrared signal that can be detected by NORAD’s satellites. If this doesn’t convince the kids that Santa is on his way, nothing will.

Leading up to the big day, kids of all ages can explore Santa’s Village, play games and watch movies. Like Santa, the site can speak to children in many languages, including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Chinese and Japanese.

Since Santa is so important, as are the presents he brings, NORAD is no longer alone tracking Santa.

Google has gotten into the act with Google Santa Tracker. It’s got silly Elf music, and a daily calendar that tells you just what Santa and the Elves are doing that day, or play Santa games.

You can access the Google Santa Tracker also via Google Assistant and Amazon Echo.

Tip: Click on #3 for translations into more than a dozen languages, using Google Translation.

In the early days, curious kids had to telephone North American Aerospace Defense Command to find out Santa’s flight path. Thanks to modern technology, including satellites, radar and GPS, today’s it’s all done by computer.

NORAD won’t reveal its top-secret tracking techniques, but we know a combination of radar, satellites, Santa-Cams and fighter jets are used from the moment his sleigh leaves the Elves and Mrs. Claus at the North Pole until takes off to its return landing.

Google won’t reveal its technology, either, but we suspect it relies heavily on Google Maps.

ecoXplorer is your guide to smart spending and eco-friendly living

ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter is a journalist with 20+ years of experience as a newspaper and magazine writer, radio & TV news producer & reporter, and guidebook and smartphone app author – all focusing on travel, automotive, the environment and your rights as a consumer.

ecoXplorer.com is an independent information service which is compensated by advertisers and sponsors. This site includes some links to other websites which are compensated for by our sponsors when you click them.